Unusual Novels (look inside)

in this case, by unusual I mean novels that don't have a human or human-like creature as the main character.
Instead of which, the main character is an animal. To qualify, the book must be at least partly realistic (no animals in human forms)
I, for one, love those kinds of books. Tell me if you have any that I've missed.
So anyway, here's a list of those kinds of books that I have with a rating (*=a star) and comments beside it.

Raptor Red (long, memorable book) *****
This book is great, just great. After a lot of thinking, I finally decided that this book is my favorite (it had been tied with LoTR for a long time). Not only is the storyline fascinating and realistic, but you also learn a lot of things from it; Robert T. Bakker (I even memorized the name) puts in a few lectures along the way, but in such a subtle manner that you almost don't notice. Another nice thing about this book is that while it mostly focuses on Raptor Red, you get a lot of insights into many other characters along the way too; that's not very common in these novels. I would reccomend this for anyone who likes LoTR; you'll love it almost guaranteed (unless you don't believe in evolution, in which case you'll hate it).
I've read this book about 5 times (about once every 2 months) ever since I got it.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull (short but memorable) *****
This book is pretty short, but it really is a masterpiece. I have never before seen anything like it. The least it could do is make you have some second thoughts about life as you have thought it existed. This should apeal to just about anyone.

Silverwing (long book) ****
Meant for kids, but readable for adults. This is very close to having human-like characters, etc. Some parts in it I found are too short, but otherwise it's very good. Note: If you read it, DO NOT read the 1st chapter of Sunwing (at back of book); it ruins the ending to the book. I'm now trying to forget it...

Young Grizzly (a bit too many things crammed in) ***1/2
This is probably for older readers, although it is short. It doesn't have a very powerfull plot although it gives an attempt at that, but it is extremely realistic, and provided some information about bears that I had not known before.

the book to a grizzly movie.. I forgot the title, will look it up tommorrow.... (short, but long enough for the story) ****
It's pretty good, but there are a few certain parts in it which I will not mention which are dissapointing. The storyline, however, is very powerfull. It is more expertly written than Young Grizzly, although with not as much realism; the grizzly in the book is an exception.

Well, those are the ones I have. Is anyone else interested in these? Does anyone else have some that I haven't mentioned?
Thanks.

Have you read `Watership Down` by Richard Adams? It is well worth tracking down if you haven`t.

Yes, I just read it recently for school. The first half was kind of slow, but it improved and the second half wasn't bad...

Alright, the title of that last book was "King of The Grizzlies", original title "Biography of a Grizzly". There's also a film on it from Disney (not animation).

Here is where you can find reviews on the above books. Who knows; you might decide to buy one (Raptor Red I would suggest to almost anyone, Jonathan Livingston Seagull to anyone, child or adult; the appeal is the same).

Raptor Red (paperback):
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...93-3356816
(hardcover):
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...93-3356816

Jonathan Livingston Seagull (paperback)
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...93-3356816
There's also a movie for this book, which you can find on the sidebar.

Silverwing (american paperback)
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...93-3356816

Young Grizzly (paperback)
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...93-3356816

King of the Grizzlies (paperback)
www.bookopoly.com/cgi/dis...?955752083

I mentioned the hardcover link to Raptor Red because I believe that it is one of the few books that is worth your money to buy it in hardcover; you can't see the image because Amazon.com took it down for some reason, but I can assure you that the hardcover edition looks much better than the softcover.
another place you can buy the hardcover at a somewhat cheaper price, www.bookopoly.com/cgi/dis...?955901085
The 2 grizzly novels are unfortunatly both out of print. I have provided what links I could find to them. You might want to check your local used book store.
I strongly urge you, the reader, to go through the "comments" on Raptor Red's and Jonathan Livingston Seagull's pages to see if you'll like them or not if you're planning to buy a good book soon, or give one to a friend/loved one as a gift; the 2 really are great books, and the rest are very interesting.

Now that that's finished, has anyone read any of these?

animal farm (i didn't like it though)

hmm... well, I've heard about Watership Down (but missed out on the sale... ) but have never heard of animal farm... the reviews for both of those books are almost all good.
Does anyone have any non-talking animal books?

Dunction Chronicles.....correct me if I am wrong......I have never actually read them myself as they are out of print in the US. The are however still available in England. I've thought about ordering them from amazon.uk.....they definitely have them there. And yes, I have thought about going to the public library, but I am banned from there.....please do not ask me any questions about it....please.

Duncton's out of print? Thank goodness I have them all already!

Maybe the first (and IMO better) trilogy is out of print, but I still see the second trilogy on shelves here in Canada...

None of them are available in the US....not even if you want to order them from your local bookstore. Heck, they haven't even heard of them before.

That's sad.

Time to search the Internet for copies of them...

They're great. They're the best of the "realistic" animal personification novels I've read by a long shot.

They're the best of the "realistic" animal personification novels I've read by a long shot.

Oh, whoops, I just noticed you said "personification" .
Have you read any of the books that I have on my list?

Timbuktu, by Paul Auster. The main character is a dog, Mr. Bones. it´s about its relations with humans. Good book.

I loved Jonathan Livingston Seagull as well, Niffiwan... I think I read Raptor Red but I'm not sure... and I haven't read the rest.

I love Raptor Red and Animal Farm...have to look for Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

My mom read a book once about Robert E Lee, told from teh point of view of his horse...anyone ever heard of it? I can't remember the title.

I heard of that but that's all...

Black Beauty (written from the horse's perspective and arguably the beginning of the animal rights movement in the USA! j/k )

Isaac Asimov's Robot books.

Watership Down

The Jungle Book (and there were some other short stories) by Rudyard Kipling

Stranger in a Strange Land (martian? perspective)

Isaac Asimov's Norby!! I haven't read those in ages! Thanks for reminding me, Gilthalion!

i am writing a book about lions

A book about lions? That sounds fun.


I love Kipling's stories. How about The Wainscott Weasel, or A Rat's Tale, by Tor Seidler? These are some of the sweetest books I've come across. And of course there's the Wind in the Willows, though for some reason I never really liked it.

I read Watership Down in my 3-person English class in 6th grade... I've been meaning to read it again recently but all these otehr good books just keep cropping up for me to read too

Isn't animal farm a personification?